"I'm sure you're right about all of that. I think it's pretty common, though, to wish we'd had a different experience than we'd had, no matter how we grew up, right? Is anyone ever really satisfied with the things they did as a teenager?"

It's almost a rhetorical question. There have been times that he's thought he'd've been a lot happier if his dad had occasionally let him out of his sight, let him have a little bit of freedom, but in actuality, he's sure he would have been unhappy with whatever reality he'd lived. Maybe it's just in his nature, to be dissatisfied by things, or maybe that's in every teenager's nature. Things are better now, he feels more settled, even though he's pretty certain he doesn't want to live with his father forever.

"You were abnormal because you were nice. Are nice. That's a good kind of abnormal. People take advantage of that, I know, but better you be nice than the alternative. I didn't have any friends in high school. I don't have many friends now, either. If I were nicer, I might have had some."

He realizes, with some surprise, that he could probably count Ned as a friend now. It seems only fair, after all.